INTRODUCTION

Child welfare agencies can successfully partner with Medicaid and managed care
organizations to address the complex health and behavioral needs of children who experience
maltreatment. If prevention and intervention efforts are applied early and effectively, these
high-risk children and youth may avoid costly health conditions and experience improved
health and psychological outcomes.
Child abuse and neglect is an important concern that negatively affects the physical and
psychological well-being of a population that is already vulnerable. Increased preventive
services to children in high-risk households can help states minimize the cost of health/medical
services to deep-end youth, reduce the number of children with chronic medical conditions
and can improve general well-being outcomes. Providing targeted prevention programs and
interventions to these children of at-risk families have been shown to reduce the cost of
providing intensive services to children with poor health outcomes later on.
Children who are investigated for maltreatment or enter the child welfare system have
greater health needs. Children investigated by the welfare system have been found to have
1.5 times more chronic health conditions than the general population.
1
After controlling for
other risk factors, children with maltreatment reports have a 74-100% higher risk of hospital
treatment.
2
Over 28% of children involved with maltreatment investigations are diagnosed
with chronic health conditions during the three years following the investigation.
3

These increased health conditions and the occurrence of child abuse or neglect have long-
term economic and health effects. The estimated lifetime cost per victim of nonfatal child
maltreatment is over $200,000, which includes $32,648 in childhood health care costs.
4

Children who experience maltreatment have higher rates of adverse health conditions and
chronic illnesses as adults including greater rates of heart disease, cancer, lung and liver
disease, obesity, high blood pressure, and elevated cholesterol.
5

CROSS-SYSTEM APPROACHES THAT PROMOTE
CHILD WELL-BEING
July 2014
By: Susan Foosness, William Shutt, and Richard Whipple, Public Consulting Group, Inc.
www.pcghumanservices.com
148 State Street, Tenth Floor
Boston, Massachusetts 02109
tel: (800) 210-6113
1
Stein, Ruth EK, et al. Chronic conditions among children investigated by child welfare: A national sample.
Pediatrics 131.3 (2013): 455-462.
2
Lanier, Paul, et al. Child maltreatment and pediatric health outcomes: A longitudinal study of low-income
children. Journal of pediatric psychology (2009).
3
ACF. Special health care needs among children in child welfare. NSCAW Research Brief No. 7 (2007).
4
Fang, Xiangming, et al. The economic burden of child maltreatment in the United States and implications for
prevention. Child Abuse & Neglect 36.2 (2012): 156-165.
5
Felitti, M. D., et al. Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes
of death in adults: The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. American journal of preventive medicine 14.4
(1998): 245-258.
CROSS-SYSTEM APPROACHES THAT PROMOTE CHILD WELL-BEING
OPPORTUNITIES
There are several opportunities for states and their stakeholders
(child welfare agency, Medicaid agency, managed care
organizations, and other state departments) to partner and
address the health care needs of children from at-risk households
and youth in the child welfare system. These opportunities include
Section 1115 waivers, health home initiatives, care coordination,
and well-being passport or data sharing.
OPPORTUNITY #1: SECTION 1115 WAIVERS
States have the option to design and apply for Section 1115
research and demonstration projects, which allows states to test
new/existing approaches to nancing and delivering Medicaid
and CHIP. Section 1115 waivers give states additional exibility to
redesign and improve their programs, specically states can:
Expand eligibility to individuals who are not
otherwise Medicaid or CHIP eligible
Provide services not typically covered by Medicaid
Section 1115 waiver projects may expand coverage, change
delivery of services, alter benets or cost sharing, or modify
provider payment structures. States can apply for and implement
a Section 1115 Demonstration Waiver that integrates Medicaid
physical and behavioral health services and child welfare services.
For example, a waiver could propose to use Medicaid dollars for
non-billable social services that prevent foster care placement or
promote reunication. Functional Family Therapy is one program
that includes both Medicaid billable therapeutic services, and non-
billable integrated case management services.
Example: Hennepin Health
6
(Minnesota) implemented an 1115
Demonstration Waiver to use Medicaid funds to support social
service programs such as employment assistance. Through this
waiver they have been able to provide employment services in
an integrated health and social service setting to childless adults.
Example: Austin Travis County Integral Care
7
(Texas) has multiple
projects under the Texas 1115 Demonstration Waiver that provide
innovative adults services. They recently applied to CMS for a three
year project to increase access and capacity for integrated primary
care and behavioral health services in public schools for children
with SED and co-morbid medical conditions. They also applied
to increase specialty care for young children with developmental
delays who do not qualify for other state services.
OPPORTUNITY #2: HEALTH HOMES
States are able to provide an array of services (community based
services/supports, medical care, behavioral health, and mental
health) to children with chronic conditions through a health home
services model. Health home services can be used by states to
address the physical condition of youth in at-risk households, and
also engage at-risk families by providing linkages to long-term
community supports, social services, and other family services.
Through health home models, states can potentially reduce per
capita costs of health care, lower rates of emergency room use,
reduce hospital admissions, and lower the intake of residential/
facility placements (particularly therapeutic foster care).
States have been encouraged by the Center for Medicaid and
Medicaid Services (CMS) to explore health home models. The
Affordable Care Act provides that the Federal Medical Assistance
Percentage (FMAP) for health home services will be 90 percent
for the rst eight scal quarters that a State Plan Amendment is
in effect.
OPPORTUNITY #3: CARE COORDINATION
States can work with its stakeholders to establish a structured
system of care coordination for the child welfare population
in their state. Care coordination can be used by states to help
organize the services/activities provided to consumers and to also
navigate consumers to the appropriate resources. Specically,
states can targeted their care coordination services to children
from at-risk families and youth involved with the child welfare
system. Traditionally, these are the children/youth that struggle
to access needed services, and transition into deep-end services
and residential placements. States can create a Medicaid service
denition for care coordination and work with Medicaid or
managed care organizations to ensure that care coordination is a
covered/reimbursed service.
Example: In Massachusetts
8
the state has formed a partnership
with health centers and managed care organizations to develop
a network of Community Service Agencies that provide care
coordination to children with serious emotional disturbance
(SED) who are utilizing multiple services or involved with multiple
agencies including child welfare. These services are Medicaid
reimbursable through a State Plan Amendment.
Example: In Connecticut
9
the state has developed a three-tiered
model of care coordination for children with SED depending on
a child and familys needs and level of involvement with child
welfare and other agencies. Currently funded entirely by state
dollars, CT is investigating expanding the program to be Medicaid
reimbursable through a State Plan Amendment or Health Homes
through the ACA.
Page 2 Public Consulting Group, Inc.
6
http://www.hennepin.us/healthcare
7
http://www.integralcare.org/sites/default/les/pictures/dsrip_project_
summaries_ including_3-year_projects.pdf
8
http://www.masspartnership.com/provider/index.aspx?lnkid=
CSARequestForResponse.ascx
9
http://www.ct.gov/dcf/cwp/view.asp?a=2558&q=314350
OPPORTUNITY #4: DATA SHARING
(WELL-BEING PASSPORT)
States can work with the appropriate stakeholders to create
policies, processes, and programs (including technical solutions)
to share data amongst agencies that serve at-risk children, youth,
and families. Data sharing solutions could include both big
data analysis and population management. States can use these
solutions to inform policy recommendations, and to also create a
Child Well-Being Passport.
States can issue each youth involved in the child welfare system
with a well-being passport, which will serve as an identier used to
track provided services. A well-being passport would not replace
agency documentation systems, nor function as an electronic
health record, but will increase communication between service
providers, Child and Family Teams, and other stakeholders to
improve care coordination, decrease costs and duplication of
services, and improve family and client empowerment of their care.
Additionally, a well-being passport can be used for scheduling and
to track clinical and external outcomes.
Example: Texas
10
has successfully instituted a health passport
for foster children which accomplishes these goals but still relies
heavily on claims data and requires some manual data input.
Example: Our Kids, a child welfare lead agency in Florida,
11
has
developed and launched an electronic medical passport program.
10
http://www.fostercaretx.com/health-passport/
11
http://www.ourkids.us/newsandevents/SiteAssets/MedicalPassport.pdf
www.pcghumanservices.com
148 State Street, Tenth Floor
Boston, Massachusetts 02109
tel: (800) 210-6113
Copyright Public Consulting Group, Inc.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Susan Foosness
sfoosness@pcgus.com
(919) 576-2215
Raleigh, NC
William Shutt
wshutt@pcgus.com
(717) 884-7701
Harrisburg, PA
Richard Whipple
rwhipple@pcgus.com
(850) 329-4915
Tallahassee, FL
CROSS-SYSTEM APPROACHES THAT PROMOTE CHILD WELL-BEING